Roy Cooper and RNC remain at odds over convention as whispers about move to Tampa begin

A standoff over the Republican convention deepened after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper ignored a GOP ultimatum to greenlight the gathering and demanded the party provide more details for its plan to mitigate health risks posed by the coronavirus.

The Republican National Committee and Cooper, a Democrat, are at odds over social distancing protocols for a late August convention to renominate President Trump that is expected to draw thousands of people from all over the country to the Spectrum Center arena in Charlotte.

The RNC has presented a blueprint for a crowded, traditional style convention that includes a series of steps designed to prevent any infected attendees from sparking a coronavirus outbreak, telling Cooper in a letter he has until June 3 to approve, or the party will take the gathering elsewhere. The governor was unmoved.

North Carolina’s top health official told the RNC it needs more assurances that the convention will be safe. In a letter, the Cooper administration asked the RNC to provide more information and a broader strategy for addressing the multiple pandemic scenarios that might exist when the four-day event begins on Aug. 24.

A Republican operative in North Carolina worries the party and Cooper are headed for an impasse. This far out, it could be difficult to guarantee Trump’s desire for a convention that packs an arena with delegates and does not require attendees to wear face coverings and maintain distance from others.

“If Cooper doesn’t give Trump what he wants, they have a backup plan to move the convention to Tampa,” this North Carolina GOP operative told the Washington Examiner. “They’re definitely making plans.”

The RNC said the onus for an acceptable compromise is on Cooper.

“We had hoped to receive from Gov. Cooper concrete details on how to plan for our Convention in Charlotte. After all, if public schools can be opened early on August 17th, we should know how to proceed with an event on August 24th,” RNC spokesman Mike Reed said. “Instead we do not have a commitment that provides clarity or guidance. Like the rest of the state, we will be ready and waiting for North Carolina leadership to offer clear guidance on how we should safely plan for the type of convention for which we originally contracted.”

A Democratic source familiar with the negotiations between the Cooper administration and the RNC said the governor is doing his best to keep the convention in Charlotte. “We need to see more from them,” this Democrat said. “There’s a way to get to a workable position.” Cooper is up for reelection. But his approval ratings are higher than Trump’s, so it is unclear whether the RNC’s threat to yank the convention will facilitate a deal.

Republicans in other states that might attract the convention are quietly preparing to make their pitch, not wanting to appear as though they are trying to steal the quadrennial celebration from their colleagues in North Carolina.

Last weekend, after Trump first threatened to move the convention, Texas Republican Party Chairman James Dickey said he heard, unsolicited, from elected officials and executives that manage convention facilities who told him they were prepared to host the gathering on short notice. Republicans states, such as Texas, that have been at the forefront of rescinding coronavirus lockdowns are eyeing the convention as a chance to revive economies devastated by business closures implemented because of the pandemic.

“They let us know that they would be willing to make [the convention] happen if the opportunity arose,” Dickey said. “Yes, it would be a massive undertaking, and the people of Texas have always been for massive undertakings.”

In what amounts to a test run for the national GOP convention in August, thousands of Texas Republicans are set to convene for their state party convention in Houston in mid-July.